Bernard Delphi
Human male, born LY 855, in Sorret. Died 909, in Woodstockade. Husband of Millicent; father of Lem. Chief sorcerer of the Woodstockade branch of InterGang (904-909). Bernard was apprenticed to Cirna in 871, at the age of 16. Prior to that, he had spent a few years in a local street gang, and always hoped to someday leave Sorret and become an adventurer. He'd never given any real thought to studying sorretry, but when he turned 16, it occurred to him that being able to perform magic would be a useful skill for an adventurer. Magic wasn't something he was looking to make a career of (he certainly had no intention of becoming a master-adept, nor was he even sure he wanted to become an adept), but he thought he might as well try learning at least a few spells. So he applied to Sorret Magic Academy, and was taken on by Cirna, who had just become a master-adept herself the previous year. While under her tutelage, he developed a crush on Cirna's only other student at the time, Virtiana. However, Virtiana was in a steady relationship with Durell, who was currently a student of Cirna's own former master, Coman. Bernard's friends, none of whom were apprentice Sorreters, were aware of the crush, and teased him about it, suggesting he'd chosen to study sorretry specifically to impress her, and even chose her master to teach him just so he could be close to her. He explained that it was masters who chose their apprentices, but the teasing didn't stop until he proved he was genuinely interested in magic, by focusing intensely on his studies. To his surprise, he found not only that he really did like magic, but that he was really good at it. He soon completely got over his crush on Virtiana, but in the following years, he befriended several of the other apprentices that Cirna began training. This included a young boy named Mordechai, who was apprenticed in 876. In 878, at the age of 23, Bernard reached adept status (the same year as Durell, who married Virtiana later that year). Cirna encouraged Bernard to continue his studies, but in spite of the pride he took at having come farther in his training than he ever expected, he was also a bit disappointed that he had lost sight of his original goal of becoming an adventurer. So, he finally left Sorret, and began traveling to other villages. It was in early 879 that he arrived in First Village, where he met a young woman named Millicent. She was also a Sorreter, though she'd never been to Sorret; she'd been trained her whole life by her mother. In fact, Millicent could trace her lineage all the way back to Koichi, whose descendants had been training each new generation of their family for centuries. Before long, Bernard and Millicent began dating, and Bernard ended up continuing his magical studies under her mother, as well as other Sorreters she knew, including Rhys (who died in 881). There has been some speculation, over the years, that Bernard became involved in the Black Profits, possibly for years prior to the gang's official launch in 899. (While Rhys's daughter, Gillian Mancer, is known to have been involved in the Black Profits since 899, it's unclear whether she became the gang's chief Sorreter then or later. Some believe she was directly preceded in that position by Bernard.) Bernard and Millicent married in 883, and they had a son named Lem in 885. From an early age, both parents taught Lem magic, though he was primarily taught by Millicent and her mother. Over the years, Bernard, Millicent, and Lem made occasional trips to Sorret, to visit Bernard's family and old friends, as well as to give Lem some knowledge of what the village was like. In spite of never studying in Sorret, Lem would eventually take a test there, to be granted master-adept status. It was a rank Bernard himself never officially attained, though it is generally believe that the training he'd received in First Village from his mother-in-law was sufficient that he could have easily passed the test, if he'd chosen to take it. In 904, when the surname law was passed, Bernard and his wife and son chose the name 'Delphi,' though they've never publicly explained why. His family in Sorret chose a different surname. It was also in 904 that Bernard was contacted by his old friend Mordechai, who was now the First Sorreter of InterGang. The gang's capo, Amelia Mysshroudedtery, was looking for a good and trustworthy Sorreter to send to Woodstockade, to oversee the sorcery department of a new branch of InterGang that had just opened in that village. She'd asked Mordechai for recommendations, and Bernard was the person he felt was most qualified for the task. It was never meant to be a permanent position, but rather a brief stint to help organize the department, which it was expected would eventually be run by an elven sorcerer. However, Bernard did such a good job, and came to love the village so much, that he and Millicent moved there. Lem, who turned 19 that year, chose to remain in First Village. (The sorcerers Bernard recruited for his department included Ferris Demontalk and Silas Des'Caina, the latter at Mysshroudedtery's request.) In 909, Bernard was killed. Police were unable to find any evidence of who killed him, but it was assumed to have most likely been a member of LandOrder. He was replaced as chief sorcerer by Ferris Demontalk. Millicent considered moving back to First Village, but chose instead to remain in Woodstockade. Category:People